Born in Stockholm, Sweden, orphaned at twelve, Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982) knew from an early age that she wanted to act. She made her professional stage debut while attending the Royal Dramatic Theatre School.
Ingrid Bergman in Intermezzo
Her role in Intermezzo (1936) for Swedish writer/director Gustaf Molander was pivotal. Producer David O’Selznick purchased the rights for a Hollywood version starring Ingrid. The 1939 film Intermezzo: A Love Story was a great success and the beginning of Ingrid's extraordinary international career.
Married to Swedish dentist Peter Lindstrom in 1937, Ingrid gave birth to daughter Friedel Pia in 1938. With her natural, unembellished beauty and her apparent idyllic home life, Ingrid Bergman was perceived as the perfect woman.
Broadway and Hollywood Roles
During this busy period, she made her Broadway debut in Liliom. In the following year, she starred on stage in Eugene O’Neill’s Anna Christie. Her films in the early forties included Adam Had Four Sons and Rage in Heaven.
Ingrid was initially cast as the demure fiancée in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde starring Spencer Tracy. Concerned about being typecast, she switched roles with Lana Turner and played barmaid Ivy Peterson.
Casablanca With Bergman and Bogart
The most enduring role performed by Bergman was Ilsa Lund, the long-lost love of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) in the 1942 classic Casablanca. In referring to the film’s continuing popularity, she commented that it seemed to have a mystical quality.
One of her favorite roles was Maria in the Spanish Civil War movie, For Whom the Bell Tolls filmed in 1943. Ingrid received her first best actress Academy Award nomination for this movie which was her first in color.
As a terrified Victorian housewife in Gaslight (1944), Bergman was presented with the Academy Award for best actress. She was nominated again in the following year for her portrayal of Sister Benedict opposite Bing Crosby in 1945’s The Bells of St. Mary’s.
Ingrid’s film career was at its peak during the mid to late 1940s. She maintained great popularity with her choice of roles that paired her with Hollywood’s leading men.
- Saratoga Trunk, based upon Edna Ferber’s novel, with co-star Gary Cooper
- Spellbound, an Alfred Hitchcock psychological thriller with Gregory Peck
- Notorious, a thrilling espionage story directed by Alfred Hitchcock, co-starring Cary Grant
- Arch of Triumph, with Charles Boyer in war-time France
- Under Capricorn, with Michael Wilding and Joseph Cotten, for Alfred Hitchcock
Illustrious Star As Nun, Saint, and Exile
In 1946, Ingrid received the Tony Award for best actress for her performance in Joan of Lorraine. The successful play was adapted for screen treatment in 1948 with Ingrid again portraying the religious icon. She was nominated for best actress Oscar for her Joan of Arc.
Five months after the film’s release, Bergman’s extramarital affair with Italian film director Roberto Rosselini was revealed. Both married, they met when she worked in his film Stromboli. When her pregnancy became known, divorce proceedings were underway with Ingrid and Peter fighting for their daughter’s custody. The actress was widely criticized in the press, from the pulpits, and in the United States Senate.
Fans were disillusioned by the woman who portrayed a nun and a saint. As Bergman later remarked, "People saw me in Joan of Arc and declared me a saint. I'm not. I'm just a woman, another human being”.
In effect, Ingrid was exiled to Italy where she married Rosselini, gave birth to their son and twin daughters. She made five more movies with him and a feature with French director Jean Renoir.
Ingrid Bergman’s Triumph in Anastasia
Anastasia , Ingrid’s first Hollywood film in seven years, marked her triumphant return when she received the Academy Award for best actress. She did not appear at the ceremonies, but good friend Cary Grant accepted on her behalf.
In the following years, Ingrid made films in the U.S. and Europe. Among those are The Visit, The Yellow Rolls-Royce, and Cactus Flower. For her brilliant performance in Murder on the Orient Express in 1974, she received the Academy Award for best supporting actress.
Autumn Sonata (Swedish: Höstsonaten) by Swedish writer/director Ingmar Bergman (not related to Ingrid) featured Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann. Ingrid’s last major theatrical film, it earned her another Oscar nomination.
In 1982, ill with breast cancer, Ingrid Bergman made her last film. A Woman Called Golda was a television mini series about Golda Meir. For her outstanding performance, she received the Golden Globe Award. She died four months after the film’s release and was honored posthumously with an Emmy Award for her portrayal.
Source:
Ingrid Bergman: My Story by Ingrid Bergman, Alan Burgess, Delacorte Press, 1980
Kathleen Airdrie - Kathleen has thirty years' freelance writing experience covering history, biographical profiles, environmental and social issues
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